Minneapolis Institute of Art

Adam and Eve

Albrecht DürerLinkedCulture matchlcp-840f7214ff34

Date

1504

Medium

Engraving

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Object ID

7277

In this famous engraving, Albrecht Dürer’s primary interest was not Adam and Eve’s imminent sin, but introducing the German public to perfectly constructed classical forms of man and woman. In a sense, he proclaimed that the art of antiquity could lead artists back to an artistic Eden, a place of perfect God-given beauty. Dürer usually monogrammed his prints, but he attached such significance to this one that he signed it in full. He also included his address, a sign that he expected the work to reach distant audiences—as it has. The clarity and lushness of this particular sheet place it among the best examples of Dürer’s printmaking in any American public collection. Germany, Europe

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.